The hate BMW gets for interiors is mostly due to the fact that with the Bangle BMWs they've left their cockpit style, driver focused interior.
The Ultimate Driving Machine should prioritize the driver above the passengers.

Plus the new cupholders downright suck.

Yup, in the older models, the dash was tilted toward the driver. Starting with the e90 I believe, the dash is straight ahead. Which sucks. But I still find that all the 3 series interiors are similar.